HOUSTON – Fighting for the third time in just 22 days, two-time Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier earned the quickest win of his mixed martial arts career.

The budding heavyweight prospect needed just 62 seconds to finish opponent Jason Riley with a powerful barrage of heavy punches on the floor in the final bout of the “Strikeforce: Houston” preliminary card.

The bout capped off a seven-fight preliminary session at Houston’s Toyota Center that preceded the evening’s Showtime-broadcast main card.

Riley did well to shuck off an initial takedown attempt from the wrestling ace, but he wasn’t as fortunate with his punching defense. Cormier clipped Riley with a shot on the feet, and when “The Juggernaut” hit the deck, the American Kickboxing Academy fighter was right there to pound him out for the submission-by-strikes stoppage.

If there was anything disappointing for Cormier, it might only be that he didn’t pick up a championship belt, as he did in regional promotion fights on Aug. 13 and July 31.

Cormier (5-0 MMA, 3-0 SF) picks up his fifth win in 11 months as a pro. The 6-foot-6 Riley (9-4 MMA, 0-1 SF) falls to 2-2 in his past four fights.

If it’s true that Brazilian jiu-jitsu experts drop a belt rank each time they’re punched in the face, then welterweight submission ace Andre Galvao was probably looking for a pair of suspenders by the time he finished the first round with late replacement Jorge Patino.

After staving off an early back mount from Galvao, Patino returned to the feet and punished the grappling world champion in the standup department. Galvao was wobbled on multiple occasions, but he found a way to battle through the adversity and answered in fine fashion.

With Patino exhausted as he came out for the second frame, Galvao showed the grappling expertise that is his hallmark. Patino found himself defending takedowns and submission attempts for the final two rounds, and when his defense prove capable, Galvao elected to strike from the back.

Patino, who fought valiantly in the opening five minutes, fell victim to fatigue and was caught flush by several solid punches on the floor before Galvao was awarded a TKO win at the 2:45 mark of the third round.

Galvao (5-1 MMA, 2-0 SF) earns his first career win via strikes, while Patino (20-13-1 MMA, 0-1 SF) can hold his head high after a gutsy performance on short notice.

While Thugjitsu disciple Rock Long brought a wealth of experience to the cage in his featherweight matchup with Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes, he didn’t bring the skills necessary for victory.

Long fought off submission attempts in the first and third rounds, and while he was able to survive his opponent’s advances, he wasn’t able to mount any offense. Long’s best chance for success was in the second frame, when the fight remained on the feet throughout, but there was little action from either fighter, and MMAjunkie.com actually saw at as a 10-10 frame.

In the end, it was only Magalhaes who looked to end the fight, and we was justly awarded a unanimous decision, 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.

Magalhaes (2-1 MMA, 1-0 SF) earns his first win since 2003, while Long (19-26 MMA, 0-1 SF) has now tasted victory in just one of his past six fights.

In a lightweight preliminary bout, Adam Schindler cruised to a first-round victory over an overmatched Kier Gooch.

After a brief exchange on the feet, Schindler brought the action to the floor, and it was simply a matter of time before he would claim victory. Moving from mount to side control to the back, Schindler overwhelmed Gooch on the mat and forced a first-round tapout via rear-naked choke.

Schindler (8-1 MMA, 1-0 SF) has now won five-straight fights, while Gooch (1-7 MMA, 0-1 SF) fails in his bid for his first-ever two-bout win streak.

In another lightweight contest, Reynaldo Trujillo and Jose Santibanez stood toe-to-toe from the opening bell. Santibanez scored with the first meaningful shots, but Trujillo stood firm in the pocket and clipped his opponent in the melee.

With Santibanez on the canvas, Trujillo pounced on his opponent with rapid-fire punches that left the referee no choice but to call the fight. Fellow Texan Santibanez (9-3 MMA, 0-1 SF) falls to 2-2 in his past four.

In a 131-pound catchweight affair, the undefeated Chad Robichaux kept his unblemished mark intact, but it didn’t come easy.

Opponent Humberto DeLeon proved a stern test both on the fight and in a few brief scrambles on the ground. With the first two rounds’ scores razor-thin in nature, the fight appeared to hang in the balance of during the final five minutes.

Neither fighter backed down during the third, and the MMAjunkie.com card actually saw the round as a 10-10 tie. Ringside judges had difficulty agreeing on a winner, as well, and Robichaux took a narrow split-decision win, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.

Robichaux claims his ninth-straight victory to open his career (9-0 MMA, 1-0 SF), though the win is his first that didn’t come via submission. While game in his effort, DeLeon (5-4 MMA, 0-1 SF) loses for the third-straight fight.

The evening’s first contest saw light heavyweights Arteneus Young and Chad Cook engage in an often lackluster affair. The opening two rounds featured some a few difficult-to-score frames, but that was generally due to extended periods of non-action.

The final frame saw both fighters open up a bit on the feet, and the crowd responded to the effort. But it was Young’s striking that proved most effective against the more-experienced Cook. In the end, it was a handful of combination in the final five minutes that sealed the positive result for Young.

With the win, Young (4-1 MMA, 1-0 SF) has now earned four-straight wins since losing a split decision in his professional debut. Meanwhile, after opening his career a respectable 7-3, Cook (8-9 MMA, 0-1 SF) has now earned just one win in his past seven fights.

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